2023 Grand Alpes l’Etape – Tour de France
We’re an official tour operator for the 2023 Tour de France l’Etape
Our guests registration to the already sold-out 2023 l’Etape event
Ride the many climbs of the Route des Grandes Alpes
12 days
Lyon Exupery Airport, France
Tour Departs
Lyon Exupery Airport, France, July 5, 2023
Tour Finishes
Lyon Exupery Airport, France, July 16, 2023
Tour Style
Group Size: 24 guests – 4 staff
Rides: Always a social ride option and for those that want a challenge, we have some epic rides also.
Challenge Rating: We get you to the iconic climbs so that you have all the time to ride them at your pace. Our challenge rides are for experienced riders.
Accommodation: 3 to 4-star hotels, twin-share basis, all breakfasts included, and many dinners.
Trip Suitability – Cyclists Only
Intermediate and Experienced Riders: Your cycling holiday is actually about the bike! Our epic and challenging ride options seek more vertical meters and longer miles. Choose your rest days or recovery rides, or just ride, and ride, and ride.
Meals Included
Buffet breakfast every day, 7 dinners
Tour Inclusions
Accommodation and Transport
- Transport throughout custom van or luxury coach
- Transport for your bike with professional bike carriers
- 11 nights accommodation 3 & 4 Star hotels
- Scheduled arrival transfer as per itinerary
- 2 x Bikestyle Tours Cycling Kits
Meals
- Buffet breakfast daily
- 3-course evening meals on 7 nights
- Wine at welcome and farewell dinners
Professional Ride Support
- Entry into l’Etape Gran Fondo plus engraved finishers medal and video package
- Hosted by our experienced tour guides and professional drivers
- Mechanical assistance with your bike
- Ride support vehicle when you need it most
- Navigation assistance on all guided rides
- Sports powders, water, and bars during your ride
Why we Love this Tour
- Entry in 2023 l’Etape du Tour de France
- Official l’Etape supplier for the ASO
- Ride Alpe d’Huez, Col du Galibier, Col de Telegraphe and many more epic climbs
- See 2 stages of the Tour de France
Pricing
Price: AUD $8,700 (twin share)
Single Supplement: AUD $1200
Note: All trip costs are per person, not including airfare and based on two persons per room. If travelling alone we will match you with a person to share. Alternatively, you may choose to have a room of your own by paying the single supplement.
Note: It is a requirement of Bikestyle Tours that you have Travel Insurance for your trip. Please take out Travel Insurance at your earliest convenience. We recommend at the same time as paying your deposit.
Bike Hire
Many guests find it convenient to hire one of our professionally prepared quality hire bikes.
- Hire a bike so that you’re not lugging a bike around on your extended European holiday
- Hire a bike and mitigate damage or delays during international transit
Bike Hire Charges
Bike Hire: AUD $770 Note: Renters of our hire bikes are liable for damages to their hire bike during the period of hire, treat it like you own for the rental period. Bikes are set up to your measurements before your arrival and are fully serviced by our professional mechanic.This Trip will be Escorted by Former Pro-Cyclist, Pat Jonker
Although born in The Netherlands, Patrick is an Aussie. He often raced with a Dutch licence during his career and has won 12 major European races.
Patrick turned professional at the end of 1993 and he raced with:
- 1993 WordPerfect
- 1994 Novemail
- 1995 and 1996 Once
- 1997 to 1999 Rabobank,
- 2000 with US Postal,(when injury ruled him out of the Tour)
- 2001 and 2002 with Big Mat
He finished 12th overall at the 1996 Tour de France, Miguel Indurain was 13th and that was the year Bjarne Riis toppled the Big Mig. A young up and coming Ullrich was second. Pat is also a former Dutch and Australian time trial champion.
Most South Australian’s know of Patrick’s greatest win in his final race as a professional, the Tour Down Under. It was a fairy tale win for him in front of his hometown crowd and one that we will remember for years to come.
Trip Summary
Grandes Alpes
We’re an official tour operator for the 2023 Tour de France l’Etape, which gives our guests registration to the already sold-out 2023 l’Etape event. Not only are you able to complete an entire demanding stage of the 2023 Tour de France, but with our riding itinerary you can also ride many of the famous climbs in the French Alpes, along the Grandes Alpes routes.
We will eliminate the hassle in participating in the official 2023 Tour de France l’Etape cycling event. Our support team will assist you with collection of your registration through a dedicated collection area, you will have exclusive transport to and from the event and accommodation nearby. Your support team is on hand to help you participate in the event and will include a professional bike mechanic, riding guides, and native speakers. Following the completion of the l’Etape event, we will head off and conquer many more famous climbs of the French Alps, keeping up to date with the progress of the 2023 Tour de France stages at the end of our ride.
As well as completing the l’Etape du Tour, which includes Col de Joux Plane and Col de la Ramaz, our Grandes Alpes itinerary takes you into the French Alpes to conquer many more, including Alpe d’Huez, Col du Galibier, Col de Telegraphe, Col de la Croix de Fer, Col du Madeleine, Lacets du Montvenier, Col du Glandon, Col du Grand Colombier, Col de Romme, Col de la Colombiere, Col de l’Encrenaz.
After an epic riding adventure on Route des Grandes Alpes we will welcome the 2023 Tour de France as it enters the French Alps and witness two mountain stages, including the same route that we raced in l’Etape. This is a dedicated cycling holiday for experienced riders and includes entry to the 2023 l’Etape du Tour de France – from Annemasse to Morzine on July 9, 2023. Entries for the 2023 l’Etape du Tour de France have sold out. However, travelling with Bikestyle Tours on our Grand Alpes cycling trip guarantees your entry. All participants are required to complete a medical clearance to participate in a competitive cycling event.
Special Requirements
Suitable only to Cyclists who train and have a good level of fitness (rides are challenging, participation in l’Etape requires medical clearance)
See 2 key stages of the 2023 Tour de France
- STAGE 13 – 138km – Chatillion Sur Charlaronne to Grand Colombier
- STAGE 14 – 152km – Annemasse to Morzine
Grandes Alpes – Daily Itinerary
Welcome to L’Etape du Tour 2023
Our staff will meet you at Lyon Saint-Exupery airport at 10am before transferring to Haute Savoie, which will be our base for the next week. Once we reach our hotel, the staff will assist you with assembling your bike.
After our shakedown ride, we will enjoy a welcome dinner together, including wine. Our helpful staff will be able to answer your questions about our trip through the French Alps. We’re excited to coincide this bucket list itinerary with the 2023 L’Etape du Tour de France.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- Welcome Dinner
- Transfer to the French Alpes
Once our bikes are ready to roll, we will head out for a shakedown ride. Sadly, or fortunately, most roads in these parts involve some element of climbing. Our first ride together incorporates one of the climbs used by the Tour de France, Col d’Encrenaz, and passes through the famous Mountain Biking village of Les Gets. Encrenaz is an 8km climb averaging 5.4%, however much of the climbing is down in the first 2 kilometers of the climb.
Col de Joux Plane
We can have bad and good days on the bike. In preparation for Sunday’s L’Etape du Tour, we’ll take to opportunity to evaluate the final climb of the route – Col de Joux Plane. In Lance’s words, it was his toughest day on a bike. It may well be like that for many of us on Sunday. We don’t have any time pressures today, and we have fresh legs. Choose an easy gear and tap away on those pedals. Take time to enjoy the scenery and chat with your fellow riders, as conversation and photography won’t have the same appeal on Sunday for L’Etape.
Hopefully, our recce of the course today will stand us in good shape for L’Etape du Tour.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- Col de Joux Plane - L'Etape warm up
- Dinner with guests
Our ride will start off through Les Gets before the long descent and gentle climb up the valley to Samoens. This is where the climb of Col de Joux Plane starts. Nearly 12km in length with an average of nearly 9%, it is a tough climb — one of the toughest climbs of the Tour de France. We suggest that you save your legs for Sunday and consider what you need to keep in reserve for this monster. Choose an easy gear and tap away on those pedals.
Lake Geneva
Traveling with Bikestyle Tours to L’Etape du Tour de France ensures that you have priority services. One of those nice-to-haves is priority registration and collection of race packs. Today we need to register and collect our race numbers. We will return from Annemasse on our luxury transport, but to reach the race registration area we will take a scenic cycling route.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- Lake Geneva
- L’Etape du Tour de France Race Number Collection
Our ride today heads to Lake Geneva, with the main village along the way being Thonon-les-bains. We have a couple of little climbs for those interested, first over Col du Corbier and through Bonnevaux before La Dranse river to the shores of Lake Geneva. We will enjoy lunch on the lake, before pushing on to Annemasse to collect our race packs.
Final preparations
Today is reserved for your final preparations ahead of L’Etape du Tour de France tomorrow. We have some rides available to you if you’d like that option to ride ahead of the big one tomorrow.
Otherwise, take today to relax, hydrate well and fuel up for the 5-cols tomorrow. Our professional bike mechanics will be on hand today to make sure that your bike is in tip-top shape for the race. It’s a good idea to get your bike fully dialled in today and take it for a short test ride.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- Col de la Ramaz
- Final Preparation
You can ride up to the ski station at Avoriaz today, no need to go all the way up and turn around at any time that you’d like to. Alternatively, you can ride the other main climb of tomorrow’s course – Col de la Ramaz. There is a total of 1,500m of climb in a short 55km to complete these. So keep in mind your energy reserves for L‘Etape.
L’Etape du Tour de France
This is our big day! The 2023 L’Etape du Tour de France. Ride an entire stage of the 2023 Tour de France. Not just any stage, it is the Queen Stage. Feel what it is like to ride the hardest day at Tour de France.
It will be an early start. We will support you to have your pre-race food in order before we travel to the start – we travel in professional style on a luxury coach of course, with a custom bike trailer. Once you roll off from the start you will have access to hydration and food stops by the event organisers. We will meet you at the finish and assist you to our nearby hotel.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- L’Etape du Tour
- Engraved Finishers Medal
- Video and Photo Package
L’Etape du Tour 2023 is over 150km, and over 4,000m of climbing. Even for a seasoned professional rider, the numbers are worrisome. The race follows the same route as Stage 14 of the Tour de France from Annemasse to Morzine. The climbs in sequence have increasing difficulty towards Morzine.
- Col de Saxel (4.8 km @ 4.3%)
- Col de Cou (7 km @ 7.7%)
- Col de Feu (5.9 km @ 7.9%)
- Col de la Ramaz (13.9 km @ 7.1%)
- Col de Joux Plane (11.6 km @ 8.5%)
Lake Annecy
We have a recovery day today. Phew! You can leave your bike racked if you like, or take an easy flat ride around Lake Annecy. We will transfer ultimately to near Grenoble, set up for our assault on more famous Tour de France climbs. On our way to Grenoble, we will stop in Annecy, where you can use the temperate waters of the lake to soothe the soreness of L’Etape du Tour.
Annecy is known as the French Venice. The idyllic setting on Europe’s cleanest lake is a popular stopover for ski bunnies in winter and summer tourists. The dramatic French Alps in the distance establish great thermals for paragliders to soar high above. Likewise, the winds are harnessed by sailboats on the waters. A beautiful clean lake, in fact, recognised as Europe’s most pristine makes a great safe swimming location also. Then you have the wonderful restaurants through the pedestrian streets of Annecy.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- Recovery Day
- Lake Annecy
Our gentle ride around the lake is a good way to flush the legs of lactic acid built up from yesterday’s effort. Active recovery together with a swim in the pristine lake will accelerate your preparedness for more climbing on our journey through the Grandes Alpes.
Alpe d’Huez
After a good night’s rest at our chateaux-style hotel, we will travel up the Issoire valley toward arguably the most famous Tour de France climb, Alpe d’Huez. We will start our ride short of the climb to give your legs a chance to warm up. Today is a great chance to pick up some cycling memorabilia that recognises the Grandes Alpes, and more specifically the mythical Alpe d’Huez.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- Alpe d’Huez
- Col du Glandon
There are no time pressures today, so enjoy the climb and ease the legs back into climbing. Our bus is available to transport you to our hotel after climbing Alpe d’Huez. If you’re starting to come good, consider riding our long ride option which descend from Alpe d’Huez off a side road through Villard-Reculas and onto the ascent to Col du Glandon and ultimately Col de la Croix de Fer. Once you reach the summit, we will return to Col du Glandon and descend down to our hotel in the Maurienne valley.
Col du Galibier
We are absolutely spoilt for choice from our hotel. We will target several more climbs from our perfect situation and enjoy a rest up in the afternoon following the Tour de France at a local bar. This is the perfect way to ride the Grandes Alpes.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- Col du Galibier
- Col du Telegraphe
Today’s target is considered the most legendary climb in the Tour de France of the French Alps, Col du Galibier. It is significant as it is the main route across the narrowest section of the French side of the Alps. Therefore, it is climbed often, and like in 2022 it can be summited twice in one edition.
Climbing Galibier from the Maurienne valley, or the Valloire side gives you a second climb along the way, Col du Telegraphe. However, lock it into the memory bank, the small descent we have on the way to Galibier is a small climb on our return, but it punctuates the 60km of descending we have back to our hotel.
Col de la Madeleine
We are in the region of Savoie, and we’re staying in the Maurienne valley. During winter, residents are spoilt for choice for skiing destinations, especially since the installation of the high-speed gondola that connects the three-valleys. Likewise, in winter cyclists are spoilt for choice. We’ll take the road option that is parallel to the gondola, the climb is known as Col du Madeleine.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- Lacets du Montvernier
- Col de la Madeleine
You may like to take the direct route which starts from the front of our hotel. However, a more interesting route is to ride the stunning Lacets du Montvernier and an adjoining climb that meets up with the main climb.
Since the inclusion of the Lacets in the tour, this has been our preferred way to climb Col de la Madeleine, which includes the quiet road that climbs to Col du Chaussy
Grand Colombier
We are nearing the end of our trip through the Grandes Alpes, for our cycling at least. But it is only the start of the stages in the Alps for the 2023 Tour de France. The race first brings the Alps into focus with a stage that has a very tough climb, and from the summit, the view of Mont Blanc is well in perspective. It is not officially part of the French Alps, as officially it is the Jura mountains.
We will catch up with the Tour de France today, and see one of the most anticipated mountain top finishes of the three-week tour — the stage finish to Grand Colombier.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- Stage finish to Grand Colombier
We will travel to our hotel this morning not far from today’s stage. Upon reaching our hotel we will swap modes of transport and ride to the stage. Once we reach the start of the climb, you can head up as far as you wish for a great vantage point on the climb.
Stage 14, retracing L’Etape
We’ve all ridden today’s stage. We know exactly what is ahead of the riders today. We have the option to see the race on the course today, or you may like to ride locally and see every moment on television besides the lake. That choice is up to you.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- Col de Romme
- Col de la Colombiere
Our ride to see the race today covers another couple of climbs along the Route du Grandes Alpes. We will ride the other Colombier, although not Grand, and slightly different pronunciation, as it is the Col de la Colombiere, before the easier climb of Col de Romme. Soon after we intersect with today’s stage at the base of Col de la Ramaz. Once the race passes, we will have time to return to our hotel in time for the finish on Col de Joux Plane.
DEPARTURE – Lyon Saint-Exupery Airport/TGV
Sadly, our trip comes to a finish today. However, we will celebrate an incredible cycling trip on Route des Grandes Alpes, including the L’Etape du Tour 2023. We’ve also incorporated seeing two stages of the 2023 Tour de France live. We are offering a single transfer today, to Lyon Saint-Exupery airport (and TGV station). For planning your onward travel, we will arrive at our destination around midday. Please arrange your departure for after 2 pm for domestic flights, or 3 pm for international flights. If you’re catching a TGV please schedule your departure for after 1 pm.
It is a privilege to share with guests their remarkable accomplishments, and for guests on our exclusive L’Etape du Tour cycling trip, there is an unparallel opportunity to do bucket list climbs. Congratulations on your achievements, as they come from dedicated preparation.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
L'Etape du Tour de France
Route Details
We’re an official tour operator for the 2023 Tour de France l’Etape, which gives our guests registration to the already sold-out 2023 l’Etape event.
The 31st edition of the “Étape du Tour de France” will take place on July 09th, 2023 on the same route as stage 14 of the Tour de France, between Annemasse and Morzine, 152 km with more than 4,100 meters of accumulated positive elevation gain, including the climbs of col de Saxel, col de Cou, col de Feu, col de la Ramaz et col de Joux Plane.
*** It includes race bib, a flask, an engraved medal(with the first name, family name, the time of finish), as well as a photo and video package
Ride Challenging Climbs with the most experienced Tour Operator at Grand Tours
Grand Tours for 27 years
2023 will proudly be our 27th year of organising trips to the Grand tours, making us among the most experienced tour operators at Le Tour.
If you’ve ever stayed up late watching le Tour de France on TV and swooning over the imagery, we’ll help you make your dream come true by bringing you there live and letting you cycle the famous roads yourself!
- 20+ years of experience running Tour de France trips
- Different trips and itineraries to suit your holiday preferences
- Accommodations in 3 & 4 star hotels
- Luxury transportation throughout your holiday
See the race at various stages including the start, finish, epic climbs, and routes in small French villages. Go beyond the typical tourist areas of France and celebrate Le Tour in a friendly French town.
However you want to experience the Tour de France, we have a trip for you.
Book your 2023 Tour de France trip now and be a part of the largest annual sporting event.
Why Book with Bikestyle Tours?
A COVID-Safe plan
- All staff and guests must complete a pre-travel questionnaire prior to the start of the trip
- Bikestyle Tours complies with the COVID requirements of the local authorities (Tourism and Accommodation, Bike Tours); such as controls for social distancing, cleaning and hygiene, vehicle transport
- Check your departure and return requirements for your country of residence
Are Trips Guaranteed Departures?
We make every effort to guarantee departures to give you peace of mind that once you’ve booked your trip – you’re going! We do not cancel trips due to insufficient numbers leaving you stranded.
